President Obama has nominated Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. I watched the news conference yesterday and heard her speech. Her story is a great American success story, just the kind of thing Americans are most proud of. She came from humble beginnings and achieved so much, not unlike the President.
However, having said all of the above, I still long for the day when nominees to any position will be based solely on expertise and not on race or gender. President Obama's choice of a Hispanic woman to sit on the highest court of the land was a political decision more than it was a search for excellence. Perhaps the day will never come when we just pick the best person for the job. Electing President Obama to the Presidency is clear evidence of that premise. The country chose a President who barely had any experience at all, but was poised and ready to put an African American in the White House. It made the country feel good, which is not the best way to choose a leader, but nevertheless it happened and an important chapter in our history was written. Judge Sotomayor will no doubt be confirmed. There aren't enough opposition votes to block her confirmation, so the Supreme Court will have another woman, and for the first time a Hispanic woman, on the bench. I believe all parts of our society should be represented in the Supreme Court as well as in government, and the private sector. I may be very naive, but I wish we could come to this balance, naturally , without engineering the proper ratio of all kinds of people.
There is one thing about Judge Sotomayor that I find very perplexing. Last year a case was brought before her court that involved employment discrimination. Firefighters in New Haven, Connecticut went before the court because they were refused promotions despite the fact that they passed the test and were qualified to move ahead. The group was composed of 18 white firefighters, one of them Hispanic. The promotions were denied because none of the African American firefighters scored high enough to be promoted. When the case came before Judge Sotomayor it was dismissed with only a single brief paragraph of reasoning.
I have no doubt that this particular case will come up for discussion and questioning during her confirmation hearings. Despite the President's request that she be confirmed quickly, I hope Congress takes the time to do their homework.
...POP...What's the hurry? Where's the fire?
